All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they really happened and after you are finished reading one you feel that it all happened to you and after which it all belongs to you.
Interpretation
Good books create a reality that resonates deeply with readers, making them feel as if the experiences are their own.
This quote by Ernest Hemingway highlights the transformative power of literature. It suggests that while stories in good books may be fictional, they often convey deeper truths and emotional realities that leave a lasting impression on readers. After immersing oneself in a compelling narrative, one feels a connection to the characters and events, as if they have experienced everything firsthand. This connection fosters a sense of ownership over the story and its lessons.
In practice
During a book club meeting discussing the emotional journey of a novel.
He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. He simply woke, looked out the open door at the moon and unrolled his trousers and put them on.
How did you go bankrupt?" Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
When you have shot one bird flying you have shot all birds flying. They are all different and they fly in different ways but the sensation is the same and the last one is as good as the first.
There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.
Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.
There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.
My books never go where I think they're going.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash.
It was a great place to write a novel about book burning, in the library basement.
Sartre said that wars were acts and that, with literature, you could produce changes in history. Now, I don't think literature doesn't produce changes, but I think the social and political effect of literature is much less controllable than I thought.
Before I'm a writer, I'm definitely a reader and when I read memoir, I really want it to be true.
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